Category Archives: Tasty Tuesday

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I had the pleasure of trying this drink at the local Red Robin here in town and I have to tell I’ve been dreaming about this milkshake ever since. I make Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes, how hard could a milkshake be? It turns out…not too difficult in the least, which is just the way this girl likes it.

Recipe yields 1-2 milkshakes (depending on whether or not you are in a sharing mood).

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend well, pour into a frosty glass. Want to get even more in touch with your inner child? Serve with a shot of whipped cream and some chocolate sprinkles on the top, though I prefer mind without. If you find the milkshake to be a little runny you can freeze it until it thickens back up.

A family friend made these for a little get together she was having at her house. I was so impressed by them that I just had to find out how she made them and re-create them for my next get together. They were a hit and so simple to make. I think they are the perfect addition to any get together, but this is also one of those little appetizers that could easily make a refreshingly different light main course.

Salad Stuffed Shells

18 jumbo pasta shells

1/2 lb thinly sliced salami

4 C of mixed salad greens

1 C chopped Roma tomatoes

3/4 C chopped cucumber

3.4 C chopped red onion

1/4 C pitted and halved Kalamata olives

1/2 C Italian salad dressing

1 C shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Bring large pot of lightly salted water to boil and cook pasta shells until they are al dente (cooked through, but firm to the bite). This is important as you don’t want the shells to fall apart. Drain and rinse with cold water until shells are chilled.

Combine salami, salad greens, tomatoes, cucumber, olives, and red onion in a large bowl. Pour the dressing over the top and toss to coat. Stuff each shell with salad mixture and sprinkle with shredded Parmesan cheese. You can chill until you are ready to serve. These are a fun and healthy appetizer that will be remembered.

Now stop on over to the lovely Selena’s blog where she is sharing up a fantastic treat. Selena Robins is serving up – Spicy, Salty, Chickpeas! Yes after reading through that recipe, I think I have a new salty snack to keep on hand. See if you aren’t tempted to put away that addiction to potato chips in favor of this recipe!

A cover? What does that have to do with cooking you might be asking yourselves. Well I am here to put your minds at ease. A few of my dear writing friends have worked hard on putting together a cookbook of some of their Tasty Tuesday recipes and even added in some new stuff as well. This might leave you with another unanswered query. What do writers know about cooking? Ah, more than you might realize. With each recipe, there are either stories or anecdotes to go along with the recipe. Some of the recipes were actually used by characters in stories and some were just author favorites. I promise there is something within its pages for everyone. All we have to do now is anxiously await the birth of this book and I have to tell you….the wait is killing me. Oh well, for now we all must settle on oohing and awing over the cover until we can cook like a writer.

To get a sampling of some of the recipes you might see in this lovely little book, please stop by the blogs of these lovely ladies:

I love the holidays. Even more I love traditional side dishes like stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, and sweet potatoes. Sometimes though, you get a chance to sample something new. A recipe that still screams yum-tastic goodness and home cooking! This is one such recipe. It is my go to stuffing recipe since I don’t know how to make mom’s top-secret-if-I-told-you-I’d-have-to-kill-you stuffing recipe. Hope you enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cups cubed whole wheat bread

3 3/4 cups cubed white bread

1 pound ground turkey sausage

1 cup chopped onion

3/4 cup chopped celery

2 1/2 teaspoons dried sage

1 1/2 teaspoons dried rosemary

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1 large apple, cored and chopped (I prefer Fuji or Red Delicious)

3/4 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/3 cup minced fresh parsley

3/4 cup turkey stock

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

DIRECTIONS:

1.Preheat oven to 350 degree F (175 degree C). Spread the white and whole wheat bread cubes in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes in the preheated oven, or until evenly toasted. Transfer toasted bread cubes to a large bowl.

2. In a large skillet, cook the sausage and onions over medium heat, stirring and breaking up the lumps until evenly browned. Add the celery, sage, rosemary, and thyme; cook, stirring, for 2 minutes to blend flavors.

3. Pour sausage mixture over bread in bowl. Mix in chopped apples, dried cranberries, pecans, and parsley. Drizzle with turkey stock and melted butter, and mix lightly. Spoon into turkey to loosely fill. Or bake in oven at 350 degrees until warmed through.

Not your run of the mill sweet potatoes, I promise you that. The only thing better would be shoving all of this goodness in a pie crust, which I will try the next time I make this.

Ingredients:

3 lbs whole unpeeled sweet potatoes

2 Tbsp unsalted butter1C unsweetened applesauce

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

4 Tbsp Silver or Gold Tequila

4 Tbsp packed brown sugar

3 lg egg yolks (reserve the whites for the meringue)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Pierce the sweet potatoes in several places with a fork and bake whole, directly on the oven rack for 50 to 60 minutes until they are very tender. Remove from oven and drop temperature to 350 degrees. Butter a large, shallow casserole dish.

When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, scoop out the insides from the skins into a bowl and mash. Mix in applesauce and butter. When combined, add salt, cinnamon, tequila, and brown sugar. Stir in egg yolks until you can no longer see them in the mixture. Spoon into the prepared casserole dish. Just before baking make the meringue.

Meringue Ingredients:

3 lg egg whites, at room temperature

1/8 tsp cream of tartar

3 Tbsp granulated sugar

Beat egg whites with electric mixer on high speed. When egg whites are foamy, sprinkle in the cream of tartar and gradually add the granulated sugar. Continue beating on high until egg whites are glossy and hold soft peaks. Spoon meringue over the sweet potatoes, covering the entire surface or form into small puffy mounds. Bake entire casserole for about 30 minutes, until the meringue is lightly browned and potato mixture is heated through and bubbling.

Hello my pretties! Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE spicy food. There is a lovely little company called True Foods LV and they make a fantastic Guacamojito Salsa that I can NOT get enough of. However, in a pinch, I decided to try to come up with a version to get me through the tough times when I’ve been unable to get to the Farmer’s Market or the local Whole Foods is sold out. My salsa is a work in progress. I tinker with recipes a lot until I settle and will likely do the same with this one, however, I was quite pleased with the results of this little weekend throw together.

1 lb. tomatillos (or more if you want it thinner)

1-2 jalapeno peppers (or more if you like it spicy – I do so I use 2 large)

1/3 bunch cilantro

1/2 a medium white onion

1-2 garlic cloves (I typically add more because I love garlic)

1-2 medium avocados

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

Lime juice

Peel and wash the tomatillos. Most often, you can find them in the grocery store by the cilantro and peppers. They have a husk on them that needs to be removed first. Cut them into quarters and place them into a blender of food processor. Add the jalapeno – I remove the stem but leave the seeds and veins in tact due to heat preference. Follow up with cilantro, onion, garlic, avocados, pepper, salt, and juice of one lime. To prevent the avocado from sticking to the blade, I place them in last. You might need to work the blender or food processor a bit if the vegetables block the blades, but, once it gets going the juice will help move the other ingredients around. You can serve it immediately, however, I find like with most foods, it tastes better once it’s had a chance to let the flavors meld. Pour it into a bowl and refrigerate. Enjoy with your favorite tortilla chips and cerveza, or use it as a garnish on grilled fish, chicken, or carne asada! Yum!

Be sure to stop on over to my other Tasty Tuesday partners in crime and see what they are dishing up this week!

Happy Halloween! My fellow Tasty Tuesdayers and I decided to celebrate Halloween this week and wanted to share our spooktacular recipes on the actual day we are honoring. I’m sharing a shot. Well when you need to get your drink on in order to summon the ghouls (or perhaps banish them), this drink is just what Frankenstein ordered!

Art by Robert Martinez at Deviant Art (Click on image for more info)

Ingredients~

1 1/4 oz. chilled peach schnapps

1/8 oz. Rose’s lime juice

3/4 oz. chilled Bailey’s®

A splash chilled grenadine syrup

Directions~

1. Add schnapps and lime juice into a shaker. Shake and pour into your shot glass.

2. Very gently pour Bailey’s into the shot glass over the schnapps and lime juice mixture.
Wait until the Irish cream liqueur begins to clump and ‘curdle’ to look like a brain, just a few moments. (You can use a straw to create this effect by putting the Bailey’s into the straw, plugging it with your finger, and then slowly drizzle it into the schnapps/lime mixture to create threads of Bailey’s that will start to curdle. Continue to ‘build’ your Bailey’s brain that way)

3. Gently pour a tiny amount of grenadine ‘blood’ over the brain.

4. Watch your guests gag over the look of one of the nastiest-looking Halloween drinks around. But they are yummy and a little potent!

Now go scare up these ladies and see what fine Halloween treats they are serving up~

Yes my obsession knows no bounds. I literally crave good corned beef. To the point that my mouth waters at just the thought. And there is no point in waiting for St. Patrick’s day. Seriously, do you not think the Irish ate corned beef on other days as well? And if I feel like celebrating the Irish (and when do I not?) I will do so whenever and however I like. In fact that is what I did on Sunday. Of course, I wasn’t planning on sharing my recipe. Not because it’s proprietary or anything, but because sometimes I just like to feel needed. And if a friend needs me to cook up a good corned beef brisket, I’m more than happy to oblige. However, a dear friend who doesn’t live close enough to come for dinner, asked if I would share my recipe, so here goes. This one is for you A Catherine Noon!

Put the brisket and seasoning in the bottom of your crock pot. Add the brown sugar. Arrange your vegetables on top of the brisket and pour in the Guinness to cover (I use all Guinness to cook the meat in because I love the flavor but some prefer half water and half stout). Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. The brisket should be nice, tender, and ready to please your palate. Remove from the crock pot and allow to rest for five minutes prior to slicing.

Combine ingredients in a nonreactive mixing bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 1–2 days so that the mustard seeds soften and the flavors have a chance to mingle and get happy (2 days is preferable, but if you can’t wait, I understand).

Pour the super happy mustard seed mixture into a food processor and process. Stop occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula (we don’t want to leave any little seeds feeling left out of the party). Continue to process until the seeds are coarsely ground and the mixture thickens, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a jar and cover. Refrigerate overnight and use immediately or refrigerate for up to 6 months.

*If you are in a pinch and can’t do the ‘from scratch’ mustard. Buy a jar of good quality stone ground mustard and you can stir in your stout until it reaches the consistency you like.

There you have it folks. Happy tummies filled with Guinness, Guinness, and more Guinness (because of course I recommend you pair this with a nice cold stout). Should you have left overs, you can whip up a scrumptious corned beef hash, but that is another Tasty Tuesday episode…

Yes I’m pinked out! October is breast cancer awareness month and it seems as though we all know someone who has been touched by this disease. I have many friends who are either currently fighting or who’ve fought the battle and are living pink! Everyone celebrates and shows their support in their own way. My girls and I do it through food and of course….drink (you expect nothing less from someone with Scots-Irish in her blood). So in honor of all the women out there, fighters and survivors alike, I raise this glass to you!

Directions: Add sugar, mint leaves, lime wedges and a splash of club soda to a tall glass. Muddle until sugar is dissolved. Add ice to glass. Add rum and Chambord. Stir to mix. Top with a splash of soda.

Remember to always celebrate life, to remember those who’ve gone before us, and support and offer strength to one another…and most of all, remember to LIVE PINK AND ALWAYS FIGHT LIKE A GIRL! Slàinte!

Please stop on in and see some of my fellow authors and their fantastic and delectable pink recipes!

As a lover of the fall season, one thing I look forward to is the soups. I had a disappointment over the weekend though when I went to dish up some Bear Creek Potato and Cheddar Chowder and realized that I just wasn’t in the mood for a thick soup. I really wanted something that didn’t feel so heavy. So I tossed out the cream soup and went to work creating a soup that really made my tummy happy.

1 lb ground Hot Italian Sausage (You can use Mild if that is your preference)

1/2 bulb of Fennel sliced

3 – 4 stalks of celerey

2 – 3 zucchini sliced into large pieces

2 – 3 yellow crook neck squash sliced into large pieces

1/2 medium white onion, chopped

3 large cloves of garlic minced

1 bell pepper chopped

1/2 head of cauliflower

2 – 3 handfuls of washed and trimmed spinach leaves

1 – 2 carrots (sliced or shredded)

red or white wine (I know there are some die hard wine enthusiasts that will say you should use white since we are using a pork product and a chicken base, but I say go with what you feel like or have on hand)

5 – 6 cups of Chicken broth (or enough to cover the vegetables)

I Tbsp Italian Seasoning

1 – 2 Bay leaves

Salt and Pepper to taste

In a large pot add the sliced fennel, onion, garlic, carrot, celery, and the Italian Sausage. Cook on low, stirring frequently, allowing the vegetables to soften and the sausage to lose most of it’s pink, adding up to a 1/2 cup of wine to give added moisture and flavor, breaking apart the sausage with each stirring of ingredients. Once the sausage has cooked all the way through, add all the remaining vegetables to the pot, reserving the spinach for last. Add your seasoning (I usually omit the salt as I feel the sausage provides enough salt for my liking). Cover with chicken broth and allow to simmer until the vegetables start to soften. Be careful not to over cook, unless you like mushy vegetables. Add the spinach and simmer until the leaves wilted. It is ready to serve!

Now go hunt down these ladies and see what they are offering up at their tables for Tasty Tuesday!